Separator deck



June 27, 1939. L. F. McC ZLEARY ET AL 2,163,734

' SEPARATOR DECK F11 1 March 17, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 $13 Howa rd L. any ad Grimm June 27, 1939. L. F. McCLEARY El AL 2,163,734

SEPARATOR DECK Filed March 17, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Louis FM H0 wa r0. L. [#TJIL'IIZQM (Irina/wag Patented June 27, 1939 i l UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SEPARATOR DECK A Louis Franklin McGleary and Howard L.

Hammond, Twin Falls, Idaho Application March 17, 1937, Serial No. 131,482

.4 Claims. (Cl. 209-486) This invention relates to an improved separator by transversely extending wires 1 having one end deck for grading machines, such as employed for fixedly connected to one side of the frame and grading grain and the like; their opposite end adjustably secured to the op- It is an object of the invention to provide a posite side bya tightening device, shown in Fig.7.

5 separator deck having air-flow directing vanes as- The wires are supported, at spaced intervals, by .5 sociated therewith for directing the air currents upright pegs 8, provided with notches 9 in their against the underside of the pervious deck coverupper ends to receive the wires and the deck ing, over which the stream of material to be dicloth 6 is secured to the top of each peg by a tack vided moves, in a manner to cause a direct and Ill, which penetrates the top of the peg to one 10 uniform distribution of the .air throughout the side of the notch. Arranged beneath the deck 10 area of the deck and in an angular direction, covering and in spaced relation thereto are a whereby a better and faster separation of the maseries of spaced air-flow directing vanes I I which terial is accomplished. are disposed at an angle to the plane of the deck A further object of the invention resides in covering, the vanes being supported in spaced reproviding supporting means for the deck covering lation by spacing blocks I2 disposed at suitable in- 15 which exposes the greater area of the underside tervals throughout the length of the vanes. The of the covering to theaction of the air currents, vanes have their ends firmly secured to the sides thus permitting a free and uninterrupted flow of of the deck frame and in cross section are subair throughout practically the entire area of the stantially streamline in shape having a relatively 2'0 deck. I blunt lower edge I3 and a tapered thin upper edge Another object of the invention resides in pro- I4, which reduces the wind resistance of the vanes viding a'separator deck which is simple in conto a minimum, The pegs 8 extend through the struction, eflicient in operation and inexpensive vanes II and are firmly secured therein, the lower to manufacture. ends of the pegs terminating on a plane with the 26 Other objects and advantages of the invenlower edge of the deck frame. The vanes II tion will be apparent during the course of the folthroughout the greater area of the deck are arlowing description. ranged diagonally of the frame or at an angle to In the accompanying drawings, forming a part the normal flow of the material, as at I 5, for diof this specification and in which like numerals recting the air currents in a direction towards the 30 are employed to designate like parts throughout left hand corner of the discharge end of the 30 the same, I deck. At the upper or feed end of the deck the Fig. 1 is a top view of the separator deck, vanes I I are disposed at right angles to the upper with part of the deck covering broken away, end, as at I6, for directing the air currents at this Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, point in a direction transversely of the normal 85 Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the separator deck flow of the material. A partition I! extends s5 mounted on the grader, transversely of the frame which divides the vanes Fig. 4 is a detail fragmentary perspective view at the upper end of the frame from the vanes of the air-flow directing vanes and supports for over the rest of the frame and serves to support the deck covering, the abutting ends of the vanes.

40 Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective View show- The material to be divided is fed to the sepa- 4 ing the air-flow directing vanes and deck covering rator deck by means of a suitable hopper consupports with the supporting wires and deck nected to the feed end l8 of the deck and travels covering in separate relation, and, across the deck in the direction of the arrows until Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view of the discharged over the edge I9. The sides of the air-flow directing vanes showing the spacing frame are provided with upstanding guide rails 45 blocks. 2 0 and 2 I, the rail 2 I, intermediate its length, and

Fig, '7 is a perspective view of the tightening near the discharge end of the deck, being promeans for the deck covering supporting wires, vided with adjustable gates 22 for diverting with parts in separate relation. foreign matter, such as stones and the like from In the drawings, wherein for the purpose of ilthe path of the flowing material and oil the side 50 lustration, a preferred embodiment of the invenof the deck. tion is shown, the numeral 5 denotes the frame The separator deck is adapted for use with a of the separator deck which has a covering of conventional type of grader and is mounted on pervious cloth material 6, attached to the sides top of the table 23, as shown in Fig. 3. Air from of'the frame and supported throughout its area a suitable air supply is conducted to the bottom 55 of the table by a conduit 24 having a discharge mouth 25 covered by a battle plate 26 which distributes the air throughout the area beneath the separator deck. The air beneath the deck is directed by the air-flow directing vanes l I through the pervious deck covering 6, to act on the material flowing over the top of the deck covering.

The free ends of the deck covering supporting wires 1, are each connected to a tightening device, more clearly shown in Fig. 7, which consists of an elongated block 2'! adapted to be slidably disposed in a slot 28 formed in the upper edge of the side of the frame 5, beneath the guide rail 20, the inner end of the block being provided with a central longitudinal groove 29 in its top side to receive the end of the supporting wire which passes down through the vertical opening 3!] at the inner end of the groove. The end of the wire is firmly secured in the opening 38 by set screws 3| threaded in openings 32 in opposite sides of the block, which openings intersect the opening 30, so that when the set screws are tightened the wire 1 is clamped between the ends of the screws. A supporting bar 33 is attached to the outer side of the frame 5 in overlapping relation to the joint between the guide rail 20 and the frame and is secured to the frame by an angle bracket 34. The bar 33 is provided with transverse openings 35 in alinement with the slots 28 adapted to slidably receive the inner ends of the blocks 21. A face plate 36 covers the outer end of each opening 35 being secured to the outside of the supporting bar 33 by screws 31 and a stud bolt 38 passes through an opening 39 in the plate 36 and is threaded into the inner end of the block 2?, whereby the block is moved longitudinally upon turning of the stud bolt to tighten or loosen the supporting wire 1. This adjustment permits the supporting Wires to be kept taut and prevents sagging of the deck covermg.

In use, the material to be separated is deposited on the feed end of the deck and at this point the mass of material is relatively thick. The air-flow directing vanes ll beneath the feed end of the deck are arranged to cause a direct flow of air in a direction transversely of the deck which effects a quick spreading out of the mass of material over the deck. As the material spreads over the deck, the diagonally arranged air-flow directing vanes directs the flow of air through the deck covering in an angular direction towards the discharge end of the deck, thereby causing a separation of the light material from the heavy material and at the same time quickens the movement of the material towards the discharge end. By supporting the deck covering by the wires 1 and pegs 8 and spacing the upper edge of the vanes I I from the deck covering, the greater area of the deck covering is exposed and directly acted upon by the air currents, thus providing a direct and uniform distribution of the air throughout the area of the deck over which the material flows. In practice it is found that the arrangement of the air-flow directing vanes and manner of supporting the deck covering produces a more perfect separation of the material and materially increases the speed of the flow of material over the deck.

It is to be understood that the form of our invention herein shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and that certain changes in the shape, size and arrangement of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. A separator deck comprising a frame, a pervious covering for the frame, air-flow directing vanes disposed beneath said covering, pegs extending through said vanes at spaced intervals, and wires extending beneath said covering and supported by said pegs.

2. A separator deck comprising a frame, wires extending across said frame, a pervious covering for said frame supported by said wires, air-flow directing vanes disposed beneath said covering, pegs extending through said vanes at spaced intervals supporting said wires and means attaching said covering to said pegs.

3. A. separator deck comprising a frame, a per 'vious covering for said frame, air-flow directing vanes angularly disposed beneath said covering with their upper edges spaced from said covering, spacing blocks between said vanes, pegs extending through said vanes at spaced intervals and wires extending beneath said covering supported by said' pegs.

4. A separator deck comprising a frame, an air chamber beneath said frame having an air pressure inlet, a pervious covering for said frame, angularly disposed air-flow directing vanes extending across said frame beneath said covering, said vanes being arranged in spaced parallel relation, wires extending across said frame at spaced intervals beneath said covering for supporting said covering in spaced relation to the upper edges of said vanes, and means carried by said vanes for supporting said wires at spaced intervals.

LOUIS FRANKLIN McCLEARY. HOWARD L. HAMMOND. 

